Jannik Sinner has shed light on how he approaches dealing with difficult losses on the Tour following his latest victory at the Qatar Open.
The world No.2 is bidding to win his first title of the season in Doha, which is also featuring rival Carlos Alcaraz in the draw. Sinner is eager to get back to winning ways after the Australian Open last month, where he was beaten in the semi-finals by Novak Djokovic. At the time, he was on a 19-match winning streak at the Grand Slam.
Whilst he has enjoyed various successes, Sinner has also had to deal with disappointment. Another heartbreaking loss was in the French Open final last year, where he was ousted in five sets by Alcaraz. Nevertheless, the Italian usually bounces back relatively quickly, which he attributes to his perspective on the sport.
“My approach to tennis is that we live a normal life,” Sinner said after beating Alexi Popyrin 6-3, 7-5, in the second round.
“We have great moments. We have tough moments. We have sad moments and happy moments. It’s just an episode.
“When I have tough losses, for me it’s just a moment. I believe that the hard work we are doing is always the best thing to win, but you cannot always win. I have a great team behind me. I have family, which is much more important than anything else.”
The 24-year-old has won 33 ATP titles so far in his career, including four Grand Slams and five Masters 1000 events. Making him the most decorated Italian ATP singles player in the Open Era. He has also held the No.1 ranking for a total of 66 weeks.
“I do put tennis first, no matter what. That’s what I choose, and that’s what I will always choose, until I’m done playing.” Sinner continued.
“Hopefully, I can play for many more years. But it doesn’t mean that we don’t live these emotions.
“After tough losses, I try to go through and try to understand what I can do better. At the end of the day, when I finish my career, I just don’t want to have regrets that I could have done something more. I just want to maximize my potential and to see how far I can go.”
In Doha, Sinner’s next test will be against sixth seed and 2024 runner-up Jakub Mensik in what will be their first Tour-level meeting. He heads into the match with a 69-1 win-loss record against players outside the top 10 on hardcourts since the start of 2024. Should he beat Mensik, Sinner will reach his 46th ATP semi-final.
Sinner is bidding to become the first Italian to win the Qatar Open, which has been a regular fixture on the Tour calendar since 1993.
